Kendrick psyched for first start in 2009

Other than a handful of relief appearances this season, Kyle Kendrick has been stuck at Triple-A Lehigh Valley for most of the 2009 season.

When he starts Game One of Sunday’s doubleheader, though, he’ll get to show Phillies brass how far he’s come.

“I was disappointed that I wasn’t here, but I went down there and accomplished what I needed to accomplish,” the 25-year-old right-hander said. “I got better. I got a lot better. I’m definitely happy about that. Everybody wants to be in the big leagues, but I had to take a couple steps back. Three years down the road, this might be a big part of my career. I think it will be.”

In 2007, Kendrick shocked everyone when he jumped right from Double-A Reading to the Phillies and led all rookies in wins (10) that season. But partway through the 2008 season, things changed. Kendrick was relying too much on his sinker ball and players knew when it was coming, and they teed off. Things turned so sour that Kendrick eventually lost his spot in the starting rotation.

This past spring training, he was in the running for the fifth starter’s job along with Chan Ho Park, Carlos Carrasco and J.A. Happ, but was demoted to the IronPigs before the race ever really heated up.

That’s when Kendrick realized that making headway with his changeup was a must. After working on every aspect of it with Lehigh Valley pitching coach Rob Nichols, Kendrick is finally feeling good about his changeup. In fact, it’s his second pitch.

“It’s much better. I’m happy with it and I have a lot of confidence on it,” Kendrick said. “I needed to find a grip and get confidence in it, and I got a lot of results. I got a lot of swing and misses, a lot of quick outs. I was a big pitch for me. I want to see how it is up here. Everyone up here knows I have a sinker. I think if I just keep doing what I’m doing, it’s going to happen up here too.”

Nothing about being sent to Triple-A was easy, especially after compiling 21 big-league wins in less than two seasons. But looking back, Kendrick knows it was something he needed to do.

“This year was a big year for me growing wise,” Kendrick said. “ don’t know if ‘find myself’ is the right term, but I did a lot of growing. It was a humbling experience going down to Triple-A and a year-and-a-half up here. Once I accepted being there, I got better. I did well and I’m now comfortable with my pitches. I’m not just a sinker-baller now. I’ve got a bigger repertoire, like [Phillies pitching coach Rich] Dubee would say.”

With the IronPigs, Kendrick was 9-7 with a 3.34 ERA. In 143 innings, he walked 35, struck out 62 and allowed just nine home runs. His last major league start was on Sept. 28, 2008, against the Nationals.